L.A. Kidwell - News


March 2010: More Improvements
We're still here building instruments and haven't been keeping this news up to date. Lyndon has been busy in school for the last few years studying Industrial Design and Systems Engineering. The Industrial Design studies in particular were geared towards learning how to develop complex 3D surfaces on the computer. At the same time, Lyndon has been working on improving the production system to include CNC capabilities that will enable a wider variety of designs and closer woodworking tolerances. We are looking forward to the possibilities in this area.

April 2006: Shop Improvements

Over the last few months, we've been busy improving the shop facility and investing in new machinery. A new finishing room is nearing completion. The finishing room will allow us to expand the range of available finishes as well as increase finish quality and productivity.
We have also added new metal working machinery including a metal lathe, vertical mill, MIG welder, and an Oxy/Acetylene torch. The metal working tools allow us to create tooling, jigs and fixtures as well as specialized machinery. The metal lathe and vertical mill will be used to create custom hardware too. We now make our own truss rods and steel neck stiffeners that are sized to run almost the full length of the 24-fret neck. We are looking forward to offering some interesting new metal and wooden knobs in the near future.

March 2005: Interview on TalkBass.com
An interview with L.A. Kidwell (Luthier Spotlight: L.A. Kidwell) appears this month on TalkBass.com.

February 2005: New L.A. Kidwell Trapazoid Inlays
We have added new pearl trapazoid inlays as a standard option for all of the basses. These trapazoid inlays can be plain or may include a V-block in the center. These new inlays are patterned after the inlays that can be seen in the Phantom Bass. In addition to these inlays, in many cases, L.A. Kidwell is able to have custom inlays cut to your specification.

January 2005: New Hardware Options
We have recently added Hipshot Products to the bridge and tuner options. The Hipshot ultralight tuners make a big difference in neck weight. All Hipshot products are precision made of the highest quality.

September 2004: A New Shop
We moved to a bigger shop in Renton, Washington. The new shop is now up and running with more space and new machinery. Due to the large amount of spam we have been receiving, we are changing the contact email to

August 2004: New Phantom Bass Design
We've completed a new body design called the Phantom, which is similar to the Manta bass style in the horns but considerably different in the tail. This body style is currently in production on 4-string and 5-string basses.


Phantom Bass Prototype

PayPal
We have set up a business account with PayPal that will allow buyers to use Visa or MasterCard to pay for their instruments. If you don't already have a PayPal account, it is easy to set one up. Simply visit PayPal, register for an account, and wait for your account to be verified. Once you are verified, PayPal will allow you to make credit card payments that are not restricted to a $2000.00 limit for unverified accounts. You must have an email account and access to the internet in order for L.A. Kidwell to bill you with PayPal.

L.A. Kidwell's policy will be to only accept payment from verified PayPal accounts and to only ship instruments to verified addresses that match the PayPal account. In addition, PayPal payments will require an additional 5% expense to cover the PayPal transactions fees. Any refunds will not include PayPal transaction fees.

Upcoming Instruments
A new item is the addition of custom shell truss rod covers with the L.A. Kidwell logo engraved on them. These covers match the fret board inlay and add a touch of class to the headstock. We'll be offering either the engraved truss rod covers or an inlaid shell logo on the headstock. In addition to the standard logo offerings, we have also acquired the capability to provide custom inlay work.

Past Exhibits

12th Annual Seattle - Tacoma Guitar Show
Sunday, September 28th, 2003

2nd Annual Puget Sound Stringed Instrument Exhibit
Saturday, October 4th and Sunday, October 5th, 2003
www.seattleluthiers.org